Can You Hear Me Now? (Good)

Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (Genesis 41:15-16)

Everyone dreams. We all possess a divine calling, whether we choose to accept it or not. All men inherit vision and inhabit voices that call and commission. The question isn’t whether you can see the dream, but whether you can hear it.

Can you hear me now?

You see, real visionaries move not with their eyes, but with their ears.

This is the lesson Joseph finally mastered. We don’t know how long it took for him to finish the exam, but it’s obvious he scored high. Since childhood, the dreamer Joseph naturally had viewed life through a lens of what he possessed and the dreams he imagined. He was a favored son with colorful coat. He was Potiphar’s finest slave with perks. He was captain of the prison guard. Titles. Possessions. Connections. Opportunity. Consequently, Joseph (like most dreamers) was always looking forward and hoping to see the next big thing. He moved with his eyes. But don't fault him, we all tend to prefer sight. We all want to see where God is leading.

The problem is the eyes can deceive. What you see may not always be true, real or possible. It’s easy to become discouraged when everything in sight is negative, painful or destructive. The eyes always see reality and are often blind to possibility. Can you hear me now?

And that’s why true dreamers see with their ears. You can’t see the wind, but you can hear its howl. Vision is limited to where the eyes look, but ears are 360 degree audio portals. Can you hear me now? I can’t see the garbage truck picking up my trash outside, but I hear every move it makes. Those who live their dreams don’t seek signs but rather wait for the whisper. When they hear opportunity, they leap (even if their eyes scream "no!").

That’s what Joseph finally learned. From the prison to the palace, the greatest dreamers are ultimately designed to listen not look. He was uniquely created to hear (and interpret) not see. Joseph also realized a central Truth about Who guided his life. “I cannot do it,” he told Pharaoh, but God can. After years behind bars, Joseph finally heard the light. It wasn’t about him. It never was and never would be.

Can you hear me now? Good.


NOTABLE QUOTABLES ON HEARING:

“Much silence makes a powerful noise." (African Proverb)

“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force...When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life...When we listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we never get tired of each other...and it is this little creative fountain inside us that begins to spring and cast up new thoughts and unexpected laughter and wisdom. ...Well, it is when people really listen to us, with quiet facinated attention, that the little fountain begins to work again, to accelerate in the most surprising way.” (Brenda Ueland)

“The first duty of love is to listen.” (Paul Tillich)

“My dream was actually just to have a computer some day. If I'd imagined that it meant starting a company to sell them, I probably would have avoided the whole thing.” (Steve Wozniak, Apple computers)


Father, you are the Giver of all dreams. It is within Your Vision and Voice that I find my calling and commission. Help me this day to hear what You have dreamed for me. Shatter the noise that drowns out Your roaring whisper. Open my ears that I might see Your leading, Your blessing and Your grace. Amen.